escordvi | closed ⚡🪶 and forevermore, i'll be chasing the storm we had.

[She hears that echo of her sentiments, and damn it all, it only makes it harder for her to pull away when she sees that heaviness still lingering in his smile, not quite the arrogant, teasing one that she's grown used to in the last several months. Hints of it, but not enough for it to feel as it normally does.

Maybe that's why she feels so strange about this. Why her own heart aches when she sees that his is, too. She doesn't realize how much she relies on him being himself to save her from tumbling too far into places she doesn't want to be until he's been dragged down there, too. He probably doesn't realize it either, she thinks.

She doesn't like this look on him. It reminds her of their final days together in Waloed...

Which is why, even after she pulls away from him, she lingers, her own clinginess coming through.

She does quirk a grin though, at one corner of her lips.]

Sometimes I wonder if you remember who you're talking to.

[She could outfly him anyday.

But with one more lasting look, she leaves him behind, walking out of the bedroom and leaving him with that half of the cigar.

True to her word, she won't keep him waiting for long. Just as he asked of her. Within the same hour, the door of his workshop will fly open and in a flurry of feathers, Benedikta lands with a breeze that throws a few loose papers from his desk.]

[He can only smile a little wanly in return as he watches her leave, that strange pit in his stomach gnawing at him when she's gone completely and all that's left is the silence around him.

Silence he had long become accustomed to at various stages in his life, and had grown quite comfortable with.

A silence that had been broken by the whirlwind that was his daughter, and at times by Benedikta.

Now, both are gone, one for good as far as he knows, and one just for now. Yet the silence they both leave behind creeps into him in an unusual way, a way that it never had before. A silence that it takes him a moment or two before he's finally able to shake it off and resume dressing himself, the cigar hanging loosely from his lips before he finally extinguishes after he's through. A silence that continues to follow him as he goes back to the bathroom to finish freshening up and then returns to pack a small bag with clothes and necessities.

Just as he finishes pulling on the drawstrings, he thinks how it had been a while since he had something of a "vacation," and given how muddy his head has been, perhaps this really is a good idea. A chance to... Not be here.

Here, where he slowly walks over to where Mid used to work and sit in her chair, just like he did when she first left for Kanver. Here, where at least her old notes and ideas are neatly tucked away, things he's already looked at and will likely try and complete later. Here, where he's realizing how much he'd like to really stay in this world and continue this second life of his.... This second chance that could be taken away at any moment.

A second chance...

To live with the woman who blusters her way through that door, the sunlight pouring in with her. He just looks up quietly at her, taking her in the sight before he finally quirks his lips and greets her.]

Never were a fan of knocking, were you.

[Except she did knock the first time she came here. And for all her denials and hesitation and refusals when he first joked about her taking care of him, she's honestly done everything he needed, even if it was in her own way.]

Edited 2024-01-08 09:43 (UTC)

[She slings her bag over her shoulder and trots inside with all the confidence in the world, her expression softening a touch only when she sees him in the sunlight, a look that she now realizes she sorely missed earlier. Fucking hell, what is wrong with her? Either way, she uses his comment as a distraction from those pesky thoughts.]

Why bother? You knew I was coming.

[There's a quirk to her own lip as she stops in front of him, pausing a moment to look him over, his expression unreadable.]

And I didn't keep you waiting.

[A light chuckle as he looks up at her.]

You made me wait some time. Ten minutes, maybe.

[A more playful grin as he stands, reaching for his bag on the floor.]

And who is the impatient one?

[Benedikta clicks her tongue at him, her eyes following as he stands up before she's grabbing him by his hand and tugging him to the door.]

Come. I can fly us there if you'd like.

[It's her. She's the impatient one.]

[He is definitely giving her that look, but a smile also naturally forms when she takes his hand. He doesn't really consciously think about it, but he really does like it when she does.]

Suppose it would be faster than walking, but how far away is it from here?

[Since Nogard is right on the island... But he doesn't know exactly where.]

[He'll get a very pointed look over her shoulder as she leads him out the door, and the heat of the volcano automatically sweeps in to greet them both. Ugh, she hates it.]

The other side. [An arch of her brow.] You really haven't set foot outside today, have you?

[Oh.

That's definitely heat, hotter than than the Dhalmekian deserts, and he frowns with a grimace as he feels it. And as he glances at her, he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.]

Uh...

[And that's enough of an answer of yes he has not.]

Will you be able to handle the flight through this heat? Wouldn't want to make you work more than you need.

How do you think I got home and back so quickly?

[Benedikta slows and turns a little more to him, before she gives his hand a firm tug, pulling him right up to her.]

I'm offended that you would even ask.

[Hm...

He'll look her over a moment before he lets out a small breath to accede.]

Very well, then. Just don't squeeze too tight.

[She laughs, the sound a low, wispy thing in his ear as she holds him tighter to her.]

No promises.

[With that, there's the familiar burst of aether, and the brush of her winds, and rather than work to push him away from her like they had done before, they draw him closer, forcing them together as she pulls back, a smirk finding its way all the way up into those shimmering, bright blue eyes that now stare at him before she's kicking off the ground in a single beat of her wings... with him in her arms.

A feat she certainly could not pull off without her semi-primed state.

But as they fly over Nogard, she will make sure that he gets a good view of the dragon that's now clinging onto one edge of the island, of the volcano, and of Eltrut and Elah on the opposite side, as well as the mountain and the hot springs to which they are headed. She might even tease him with a few sudden, fast rolls through the air before diving down to the resort which seems... awfully quiet.

It isn't until she lands in front of it that she sees the sign:

TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO FIRE DRAKES. Please come back in a few hours.

As her aether fades away, Benedikta finally releases him just before her feet touch the ground, and she swears under her breath.]

Un-fucking-believable.

[Admittedly, it's always a strange feeling to have Benedikta carry him like this, but he's just going to enjoy the ride as it is, knowing that she normally wouldn't do it like this. Though he will behave and not ham it up like he normally would.

Until she tries to pull those rolls. Then he'll start making those quips and pretending a damsel in distress (this may not really help matters). Even so, he does take in the view, marveling a little at how their leviathan moved to just latch onto this side of the island. Granted that it seems dragonesque, seems fitting.

Once at the resort...

Feet now back on the ground, he walks up closer to the sign to read it over again. Then he'll peer beyond it before he hears the sound of shouting, and hissing.]

...Sounds like they're still at it, too.

[A wince at what sounded like something getting destroyed. Oof.

Running a hand through his hair, he turns to Benedikta. Really, he feels more sorry for her, having flown all this way carrying him, and he gets the feeling she might have been looking forward to the springs, too. But then his eyes catch sight of the sky lifts...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.]

But there's a winter lodge up on the mountains, isn't there? Since we're here, might as well try our luck there. Would help us get out of the heat for a bit, at least.

[She was looking forward to the hot springs. What gave it away? The clear disappointment that transforms her face into a full scowl? The tension that sets right in between her shoulders? The wind that blows through and rattles the sign like she's trying to blow it over?

Benedikta hears the drakes, and she has half a mind to leap over the dividers and take care of them herself, and then maybe they'd have a few hours of the springs to themselves before everyone decided to come back...

...

....

But Cid's voice draws her back, the promise of something chillier than that god-awful heat a tempting prospect...]

What's at the lodge?

[Her eyes follow his up to the gondolas that look to be carrying people up the side of the snow-capped mountain.

At any rate, she's already walking in that direction, taking him by the hand again, the other adjusting the bag at her shoulder.]

No idea.

[But he'll tighten his fingers around hers before tugging her closer to him, as if trying to help soothe her disappointment.]

But there might be something we can try. At the very least we can take a walk around, and if we feel a little cold, well.

[A more playful, roguish grin.]

I'm sure we can find ways to warm each other.

[She falls back a step until she's walking tucked right at his side, close enough that she can see that pesky grin of his that only gives her one of her own.]

... Well I was looking forward to the hot springs keeping me warm.

[She really was, and she's still annoyed, but she gives a playful roll of her eyes, and an equally dramatic sigh anyway.]

But I suppose the other ways will have to do. A fire, perhaps. Or some nice blankets. A cup of coffee? You do like that.

That all sounds good to me... Especially that coffee.

[A rub of his chin as he continues to lead them over to the gondolas, already with quite the crowd given how everyone is having similar ideas.]

Reminds me I haven't had one since this morning.

[... Is he doing that on purpose?]

How many cups of coffee do you need?

[Founders, Cid. Is one cup in the morning not enough? It's barely past noon.]

[Just going to you know—]

Looks like a large group comin', better hurry up if we don't want to get caught in it.

[—dodge the question as he pulls her forward quickly through the crowds.]

[Uh huh... she's going to eye him with doubt arching her brow.

But he's right.

It's definitely crowded. Too crowded for Benedikta's tastes... She doesn't like crowds, and she hates people, so the quicker they get through this, the better.

...

Which is why Cid will feel a tug on his hand, and then several people calling out in surprise as a violent gust blows them back and out of the way so that she can shove their way to the front and onto the gondola without being noticed. And she stakes out a spot near the back by the window.]

[He feels that tug, and he could guess what it meant. So he just laughs when the wind bursts through, allowing them to quickly get onto the gondola and into prime position.

But of course, while they got there early, that means everyone else is packing in—and they're clearly going to try and reach the limit here. He was already sticking close by standing next to her, but as more people arrived and shoving in, he moves so that he's in front of her, arms hands braced on either side as he faces her with a loose grin.]

Well if we have to be stuck cramped like this, might as well give each other a better view, aye?

[Still too many people, and Benedikta shifts uncomfortably, squirming closer into the corner, when one man gets a little too close before Cid's arms brace on either side of her.]

... Yes, well. I'm sure the view out the window will be spectacular. If you can manage.

[She doesn't catch his true meaning yet, not quite looking up at him as she watches more and more people filter in through the door, and her hand wraps around his arm as if he is a means to support her as she presses right up against the window.]

[....Hmmmmmmm.

Just a languid smile before he dips his head closer to her so that she can't watch the people so easily and is forced to look at him instead.]

Not the view I was thinking.

[She brings her eyes up to look at him then, his scent hitting her before the rest of him does, and the doors slide shut just as they connect. There's a whirring from the ropes above and then a lurch of the gondola as they start to ascend slowly.

And she would look outside like all the others who are in awe of the way the ground disappears beneath them... if she weren't so suddenly caught up in him, and the way that smile of his sits so easily on his lips. Lips that look so goddamn kissable in the sun.

Yeah. Definitely a different sort of view.

In a low, all-too-breathless voice, one that only he can hear:]

Which, then?

Well......

[A low, long drawl as he steps closer to be more pressed against her, face lowering a little more as his voice lowers to where only she can hear, the whirring of the cables and chatter of other people helping to mask his words.]

The one I'm seeing has some beautiful greens right now...

[Closer still he drifts, the warmth of their breaths filling the small space.]

Framed by a splash of white gold catching in the sun...

[And then his eyes move to her lips as he somehow manages to keep that small gap between them.]

And soft red petals blooming on a field of snow.

[Now... here is the Cidolfus she knows.

The one whose eyes twinkle with mischief, the one whose lips wear that roguish smirk, whose words and warmth finds its way through her skin and sinks right into her aether, knowing their way because they've been there a thousand times before. Whose breath tastes of cigars and confidence. The one that makes her face warm and pink, and her eyes caught up in his.

She doesn't even say anything, her own breath caught in her throat as she stares up at him, so close—close enough that she could kiss him if she moved just an inch. And no one would know... no one on this gondola would have any idea that she had with him caging her like this...

And that want is there, that longing that she's been stamping out all morning for his sake, when her eyes flit to his lips and then back up.

Damn him...]

Edited 2024-01-09 15:35 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject